Don't Let Go
by Laura x Tennant
Summary: The Doctor couldn't believe he'd done it. He'd finally got through. And all he could think about was getting to her. His focus was single-minded and unwavering; find Rose Tyler.   It was actually easier than he thought fate might make it.   Reunion Fic x
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Set some time after Doomsday. The Doctor has managed to return to Pete's World. Now he's going to try and find Rose.**_

_**Don't Let Go**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_The Doctor couldn't believe he'd done it. Finally. He'd finally got through. And all he could think about was getting to her. His focus was single-minded and unwavering; find Rose Tyler._

_Even if he had to search the whole of Pete's World, he'd seek her out._

_But he'd start with the place he thought she'd most likely be._

_**-x-**_

He sprinted up the driveway so quickly that it was a wonder Jackie saw him. But see him she must've, because before he'd even made it to the door, she'd opened it, and flung her arms around him.

"Oh. My. God! It's you, it's really you!" she shrieked.

He let out a laugh, inexplicably delighted to see her, and he effortlessly twirled her around. "It really is!" he agreed joyfully.

"How did you get here?" she asked frantically. "Is the world in danger again?"

"No, no! Nothing like that, Jackie, I promise. I'll tell you all about it later." He paused, swallowing thickly. "So...Rose?" he murmured tentatively.

"She's not here," Jackie mumbled into his shoulder, grasping him firmly even as he set her feet back down on the ground.

The Doctor pulled back. "Where is she?" he demanded immediately, fear sweeping through him.

"It's alright," Jackie soothed. "She's just at her flat, that's all. Come on, let me get Tony ready and Pete can drive us there, okay?"

He nodded fiercely. "Yes. Yes, please. Thank you."

Jackie led the Doctor through the hallway and into the living room, where, with a quick apology, she left him with her little boy while she bounded upstairs to call for Pete.

The Doctor uneasily sat down, cross-legged on the floor, opposite Tony, who just looked at him with wide, brown eyes and mumbled a quiet hello - as if he knew who he was but wasn't quite sure how he ought to behave.

"Hello," greeted the Time Lord softly, instantly won over by Rose's little brother. He had the same trusting eyes as her, after all, as well as a brilliant array of toy figures surrounding him that the Doctor was just itching to play with. "It's fantastic to meet you, Tony," he continued, as he picked up something that looked rather astoundingly like a Slitheen, but was in actual fact something from a children's television show on Pete's World, and he absently started fiddling with it. "I'm the Doctor, by the way."

Tony's face broke into a grin, and he lunged forward, throwing his arms around the Doctor's neck.

"Woah! Hello there," laughed the Doctor, hugging the boy back. "What's all this for? Honestly, you Tylers are all the same. Your Mum did something very similar just now. And hopefully, with a bit of luck, so will your sister - "

"You're here," the little boy whispered in awe, stopping the Doctor's speech abruptly.

He swallowed thickly. "Yes. I am. Has she told you about me, then?"

Tony pulled back and regarded him with a surprisingly scrutinising look for a five year old. "I thought she might've made you up," he confessed quietly.

The Doctor smiled ruefully. "Nah, I'm rather real, actually."

"But she said you were...an _alien,"_ Tony murmured. The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "_Are _you an alien?"

He nodded. "Yep. And I have a spaceship," he informed him, grinning ear to ear.

"The TARDIS is real, too?" asked an excited Tony.

"Oh yes," agreed the Doctor.

"That's so _cool!"_ he cried.

The Doctor beamed. "Finally! Someone's finally called me _cool! _I thought it was never going to happen, truthfully." He paused then, looking at the boy and considering something. "How old are you, Tony?"

"My birthday's coming up soon. I've asked for my own sonic screwdriver, like the one from the stories Rose tells me about your adventures in time and space! But she says she doesn't know how to make one, and even if she did, Mum wouldn't let me have one." He looked so disheartened that the Doctor couldn't help but feel obliged to promise he'd make him one himself.

"Just don't tell Jackie," the Doctor added. "So, how old are you, then?" he repeated.

"Six. I mean, nearly six. On my birthday, I'll be six."

"Six years," the Doctor exhaled roughly. "Blimey."

They'd been apart for so long. How much had she changed in all that time? Had she found someone else? Was she married? Did she have children of her _own?_

"Rose is going to be so happy. She's really missed the TARDIS," Tony confided in hushed tones, as if it was a secret.

The Doctor pouted. "I hope that the TARDIS isn't all she's missed," he grumbled half-heartedly.

Tony shook his head. "She told me that she even misses the alien prisons you kept getting her locked up in! I didn't really believe you both got arrested. Is it true? Is it?"

"Firstly, more often than not it was _her _getting _me _locked up in alien prison cells with her. Very jeopardy-friendly, your sister. In fact - "

"Doctor," came a male voice from across the room. The Doctor looked up and grinned at Pete, who had a look of wonderment on his face.

"See!" Jackie hissed at his side. "I told you I wasn't imagining him, you idiot. He's finally here."

"About that," the Doctor winced, standing up. "From Tony's age I've ascertained that I've been gone awhile." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Rose. Is she...has she...will she want to see me?"

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Oh, for goodness' sake!" she laughed. "Pete, get Tony to get himself dressed and into the car. I'm going to show the Doctor something."

Pete nodded, shaking hands with the Doctor in a brief greeting before hurrying Tony to get ready.

Jackie grabbed the Doctor's hand and tugged him out of the back door and into the garden. When she stopped, he was at a loss as to what he was supposed to be being shown.

"Lovely garden," he commented casually. "Very...green. Oh! Look, now there's a nice flower," he beamed, strolling over to a white rose bush and plucking one into his grasp, mindful of the thorns. "Rose and I visited a certain planet once; Vronsa, it's called. Has the most – weeellll, okay, second most - beautiful rose you could ever see, all mysterious and magical. It's like...I'll tell you what it's like, it's like in Disney's _Beauty and the Beast, _yeah? The magical rose that drops its petals to count down time. All pink with yellowy magical dust surrounding it. Talking of Disney - does this world have Disney? This world must have Disney. Tony will not grow up sufficiently unless he goes through the rites of passages that are Disney films..." he turned back to Jackie, and was horrified to see her crying. "Jackie! Uh..." he floundered. "Um, are you...I'm sorry if I upset you, I..."

"No!" she replied, sniffing. "No, it's okay, it's not you. Well it is, but it's not your fault. It's just, you here...oh," she sighed, shaking her head. "She's...Rose, she's..."

His brow furrowed worriedly. "What is it? Is she alright?"

"Yeah," nodded Jackie. "Yeah, she's alright. She's always alright."

The Doctor failed to dislodge the sudden lump in his throat, so he just tilted his head in a silent request for Jackie to continue.

"She's working at Torchwood, helping save the world on a daily basis or whatever it is they do. She's travelled around a lot. She shares this lovely flat, all modern and posh."

He frowned. It all sounded like Rose up until the words modern and posh. But he brushed that aside to concentrate on the more important issue. "When you say 'share,' do you mean..." he voice trailed off as he noticed something for the first time, nestled in the oak trees in the corner of the garden.

"Is that a _tree house?" _he exclaimed excitedly. "Does Tony have a den? A very sophisticated, properly built one, at that! And TARDIS blue! Such a great colour scheme! Oh, that is one cool little boy you've got there, Jackie."

She muffled a laugh. "Actually, Doctor, it's Rose's."

He let out a surprised bark of laughter, and at once sprinted towards it, hearing Jackie quickly following him. Climbing up the rope ladder, he suddenly thought of Mickey and flying zeppelins. He paused, and looked down at Jackie. "What about Mickey? How's he doing?"

Jackie smiled. "Oh, he's very well. Works at Torchwood, too. Got a nice girlfriend and that. She's a doctor, actually."

"Good for him," he smiled back. Then, he went back to his task of seeking out Rose Tyler's secrets.

He opened the little door, crawled in, and settled himself on a bean bag, surveying the room as Jackie breathlessly heaved herself up, perching at the entrance. "I'm far too old for this," she wheezed.

"Nah you're not. Got a few more years of fun left in you yet, Jackie," he grinned, waggling his eyebrows. "I can't believe this," he whispered then, looking around.

There was an old, rickety bookcase in the corner of the little room, filled with both novels and photo albums and souvenir-y ornaments. Covering the walls were paintings and postcards and photographs; a collage of snapshots of the time and space that little old parallel earth had to offer. A couple of suitcases were atop a large trunk; all zipped up and possibly full of clothes and mementos. Blankets and various items of clothing were strewn across the floor to make it feel homey, well...make it feel like Rose had been here. The thought warmed the Doctor's hearts; she was still messy. And by Rassilon, he loved her.

And _that, _he thought, leaning forward, looks like a trap door. Weeelll. Considering it's in the wall, maybe just a door. But a very small door, so it looks like a trap door, he amended in his head.

"Twenty-six year old woman and she makes herself a club house. Not only that," the Doctor beamed, crawling on his knees to lift the hatch and peer inside what looked to be an extension, a room much like the first but hidden from view on the outside. "But a bigger on the inside club house! Oh, she's so brilliant, I could kiss her."

Jackie smiled to herself. "And I'm sure you will. This is what I wanted to show you, Doctor."

He turned back to her and grinned. "Well, it is very impressive."

"What I mean is, Rose never gave up on you. This place, in here...this is where she comes when she wants to get away from real life and all its paper work and demands and hostile aliens. She comes here and remembers. See, when she's not working, she goes away for days on end, sometimes; just drives to the airport and catches a random flight on a whim, ending up in all sorts of places. She takes her camera with her and a bit of money and not much else. Then she comes back, comes here, and she brings all the souvenirs she's collected, and she puts up the pictures she's taken, and she -" Jackie broke off, stifling a sob.

"She...?" the Doctor prompted eagerly, perusing Rose's collages of photos from across the World, his fingertips ignoring those of other people, tracing only the camera-captured smiles of Rose Tyler in the ones she was in.

Jackie took a deep breath and gestured to the dozen notebooks scattered amongst the mess. "She writes down every single thing she wants to say to you when you come back for her."

The Doctor sank back on his haunches, taking that in. Tears glistened in his eyes and for a long while, he could not utter a response.

"Everything she's seen, all the adventures she's had, all the people she's met and the funny stories they've had to tell. She writes it all down, Doctor, so that she doesn't forget everything she needs to tell you."

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I need to see her," he said in a low, gravelly voice. "Now. I need to see her now."

Jackie nodded. "Let's go."

He gave a weak laugh as he stared at the space above the little doorway as she spoke. In painted, blue, swirly lettering, it read: _alonsy! _

"Let's go indeed," he murmured, voice wavering.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: I'm incredibly overwelmed and overjoyed to have received so many reviews for the first chapter of this, thank you all so much for your enthusiasm! I hope you continue to like it xxx**_

_**Chapter 2**_

In the car on the way to Rose's flat, Jackie regaled the Doctor with the things he'd missed. She told him all about Tony, about how Pete and her got married, about how she loved her new life and all the freedom and happiness it had brought. About how grateful she was to him for everything; everything she'd not had a chance to thank him for until now.

She also told him something else, sensing that he was itching to ask...

She told him that Rose was absolutely not married.

"Oh? Mmm. Right, well..." he stuttered nervously, internally relieved but trying so very hard not to show it.

She also told him that Rose was sharing a flat with a guy.

"Oh," he nodded, acting nonchalant. "Oh, that's...uh. Right."

"But she's not dating him," Jackie added.

"No?" He failed to keep the eagerness out of his tone.

"No. She's never even slept with him."

"Oh," he gulped. "Okay."

"In fact, he's dating someone else," she continued.

"Oh, that's...nice."

"Yeah. And he's gay, anyway," Jackie concluded.

The Doctor glared her. "You could've just said that first, you know. Would've saved me from getting a headache."

"But it wouldn't've been as much fun," Jackie grinned.

_**-x-**_

They pulled up outside a block of flats after around half an hour travelling, and Jackie turned in her seat to face the Doctor. "Right. You ready?"

The Doctor bit his lip. "Well. Um. I suppose," he answered hesitantly.

"What do you mean, you _suppose!" _Jackie exclaimed.

"She hasn't seen me for six years, Jackie. I'm terrified. I've no idea what to say. Or how to make this up to her. Or even - "

" – oh, be quiet, you big banana. She loved you then and she loves you now. She'll forgive you for being away for a bit."

"A _bit? _Um, several years doesn't count as a _bit, _Jackie. By the very nature of them being _several years," _he retorted, sounding scandalised.

"Well, better late than never, eh?" she replied with raised eyebrows.

"That's true," piped up Tony, to whom the Doctor then turned to face.

"What do you think, Tony? You're the most trustworthy one in your family - "

" – you wouldn't say that if you knew the trouble he gets into," chuckled Pete.

"He's quite fond of making up stories; aren't you, Tony?" Jackie tutted. "I blame Rose for that."

The Doctor grinned. "Well, Tony? What do you think I should say to Rose?"

"Hmmm. I think," Tony began. "That you should just..."

"Yeah?" the Doctor prompted.

"Kiss her?" pre-empted Jackie.

"Eugh, _no!" _cried Tony. "Kissing is disgusting!"

The Doctor's grin grew wider. "I bet you ten quid that in ten years time, you will not have the same opinion," he told the little boy ruefully.

Tony rolled his eyes and changed the subject back to non-kissing territory. "Just tell her you're sorry," he shrugged, as if it were the most obvious of universal truths.

The Doctor's eyes widened and he nodded mutely in agreement. He vaguely registered Jackie opening her door and getting out of the car.

"Oh, and by the way, Doctor; it's February 14th, today," Pete whispered wisely, breaking the silence but trying not to let Jackie hear what he was saying.

"Should that mean something to me?" the Doctor whispered back worriedly.

"Yes!" Jackie butted in, hearing every word as she opened the Doctor's door. "Valentine's Day, Doctor! Romance and love and all that! Now, _shift."_

"Oh!" he realised belatedly. "Oh, okay. Weeelll, that's...that's..." He sighed regretfully as he stood up. "Oh, what a day to come to Pete's World on. I'm feeling nervous enough as it is! Should I have brought flowers? Chocolates?"

Jackie laughed, and patted his arm reassuringly. "I'm sure getting to see you again will be all the gift she needs."

He smiled gently. "Thanks, Jackie." He paused, considering his words carefully. "You know...I've missed you, too. I missed all of you."

"Oh, stop it," Jackie chastised half-heartedly. "You'll make me cry again!"

"Right," he nodded, shaking his head at himself. "Shall I just..." he gestured to the building.

"I'll come and buzz the buzzer thingy for her flat so that you can get in," Jackie said, leading him to the entrance. She pressed the intercom button to ring Rose's flat, and said into the receiver, "Only me, love!"

The Doctor was a bit disappointed when Rose didn't answer; she just simply let them in.

"Right, Doctor," Jackie said. "She's in flat 606 on the sixth floor. 'Cos she knows I'm here, she'll leave the door on the latch, but don't go giving her a heart attack by simply bursting in. Ease her into it, yeah? I don't want her dying on us now that she's got you back."

"No, that would be rather awful," agreed the Doctor, his lips quirking up.

"Well then. Go get her!" Jackie grinned. "We'll be up shortly."

"Course you will," the Doctor replied, smiling widely. Then his smile faded exponentially. "Oh, blimey. This is the scariest thing I've ever done."

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic!" Jackie laughed.

The Doctor's eyes widened at the irony of _Jackie Tyler _saying that to _him_. "Right. Of course. Okay."

"Now go!" she exclaimed.

"I'm going!" he insisted, walking towards the lifts. Thankfully, one was already at ground level, and he quickly entered and pressed the button for the sixth floor. "Wish me luck," he requested, just as the doors began to close.

"You don't need it," Jackie disagreed, beaming proudly.

Once the lift was in motion, the Doctor began to panic again, his hearts beating far too quickly and his breathing all out of control. He had no idea why he was so nervous, not really; Jackie had been rather reassuring, after all. And he knew Rose so well – years apart couldn't change that – so deep down he knew she'd welcome him with open arms.

It was just...oh, he'd been waiting for this day for so long. He'd finally found a way to get back to her; what if his dream reunion didn't go as he'd planned? For instance, he'd thought about this so much in those first few months without her – what he'd say, how he'd say it, if he ever saw her again. Even when the hope of reaching her had faded slowly away with each unsuccessful attempt, he'd still had in his mind the perfect conversation to start.

But now he could remember nothing. His mind was blank, and as he stepped out of the lift and into the corridor, quickly finding number 606, he realised that this was the first time in his long life that he really, truly, did not reckon he could utter a single word.

The Doctor hovered outside her flat, his breath coming out fast and shaky. This was it. She was there. The other side of the white wall.

_Thank goodness there's a door to her this time._

Clinging on to a solitary strand of courage, he took a step forward, and knocked on the door.

"Mum, it's open, you just spoke to me on the intercom thingy!" he heard Rose mutter to herself.

Her voice. Oh that was her voice. So long since he'd heard it and _oh, _it was as beautiful as he remembered. More so. That, at least, was reassuring. Her voice could always relax him. Well. Unless she was shouting for help, of course, in which case he was always on full alert, and no power on Earth, or Other, would relax him until he knew she was safe.

Tentatively, he pushed the unlocked door forward, and it swung open to reveal her modern and posh-looking flat. He couldn't see her, but he supposed from the nice aroma of bacon coming from one particular direction that she was in the kitchen.

Rose was cooking.

She had better have learnt how to over their years apart, or else they were all in trouble, he thought to himself, smiling widely.

"Did Debs ring you in the end?" she called out, amongst pots clattering and taps running and things hissing. "She said she would. Oh, bugger! Damn it, that's the eggs ruined. Why's this so flipping hard, eh? How comes you manage alright, but I can't even make bloody _breakfast?"_

The Doctor simply stood in her living room, not knowing or caring who Debs was, only listening to the sound of Rose cursing her own cooking skills emanating from the kitchen.

Blimey, he'd missed this. So, it sounded like she'd ruined the eggs. She hadn't become a domestic goddess in those six years away from him. He was glad of it; Rose didn't need to change her ways, he loved her just the way she was. It was so endearing, he remembered, every time he caught her in the TARDIS galley attempting to bake or something; and every time he saw flour all over her face and in her hair and over the floor, he'd fallen for her even more.

"Mum? Are you even listening to me? Cor, it's like I'm invisible this week. Look, just 'cos it's Valentine's Day and, unfortunately, yours and Dad's anniversary on top, doesn't mean everyone has to go all googly-eyed over the ones they love. It's such a commercialised holiday, anyway. And we loners feel bad enough about being forced into chastity, without having a bloody festival to rub it in our face that we're single while everyone else is getting romanced by tall, dark, handsome strangers!" Rose concluded, wiping her sweaty brow with a stripy blue tea-towel as she stepped out of the kitchen.

"Oh, so cynical, Rose Tyler. What's become of you?" he murmured teasingly, instantly surprised but immensely grateful that his brain had spontaneously worked out some words for his voice to say. "And here I was, hoping to ask you out."

_**-x-**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Thank you all so, so much for your lovely reviews! This is dedicated to all of you :D I hope you like it x**_

_**Chapter 3**_

Rose's mouth fell open in complete shock.

At her stunned silence, the Doctor shifted from foot to foot, yearning to just run to her and sweep her into his arms. Scared to in case she slapped him for being so bloody late.

Then a wide smile spread across her face, and he didn't need to run to her, because she propelled herself forward so quickly that the force of her sudden hold on him sent them both tumbling backwards and onto the floor.

Rose looked down at the Doctor from where she'd landed on top of him, and they both started laughing, remembering times of rough landings and sprawling on the console room floor with a fondness that tugged at his hearts.

"Hello, Rose Tyler," he murmured, lifting his arms and wrapping them around her back, keeping her pressed close against him.

Awkwardly in that position, Rose brought her own arms up so that she could run her hands through his hair. "Hello, Doctor," she beamed.

"How are you?" he asked her, and he couldn't help but respond in kind to Rose's chuckle, for what an absurd thing to say, so small-talk-like and nonchalant, when she was laying on practically the entire length of his body after not seeing him for years.

Her chuckles died off once more and she surveyed his face closely. "I'm alright. You?" she replied. "You look older..." she murmured, tracing the frown lines of his forehead.

"Thanks," he responded sarcastically, tickling her ribs. "So do you." And she did. But only in all the best possible ways. There wasn't a wrinkle in sight, not _one_; but she had a wise, knowing look in her eyes from a few more years of experience, and the way his hands fit so nicely on her womanly hips was just _divine_.

"Mmm, well. I'm still human. I _s'pose_ I still sort of do that thing called aging... What's your excuse?" she laughed.

"I missed you," he whispered, stroking her hair from out of her face where it had slipped from behind her ear.

He saw the tears glisten in Rose's eyes. "Missed you more. You got the timing wrong, again, Doctor. It's s'posed to be five and a half _hours, _not five and a half _years," _she whispered back.

"I'm so sorry," he apologised quietly, following Tony's advice. "It took...longer than I expected." _No it didn't_, he thought briefly to himself, _I didn't expect it to ever happen, not after so long without you_. "And...well. I wasn't really in a position to pick and choose the date," he continued. "I'm just so lucky that I ended up in a year with you still here. Imagine how awful it would've been if I'd got here a hundred and twenty years later or something, and tried to look you up. I would've been - "

" – able to," Rose finished quietly.

He frowned. "I'm sorry?" He paused. "Don't tell me you've built a time machine as well as a Secret Lair!"

"No," she laughed. Then she blushed. "Wait, you've seen that?"

He grinned up at her. "Yep! It's...well, it's brilliant! Really fantastic. I went there first, you see. Didn't know what year it was or anything, but I took a chance and went to Pete and Jackie's mansion for some answers. Then Jackie showed me the tree house."

Rose swallowed thickly. "Did you go inside?"

He nodded gently. "It's beautiful."

"Thanks," she said, flushing pink again.

"You're beautiful," he continued, slipping his hand into her hair and cradling the back of her head.

She smiled warmly, and, at the slightest pressure the Doctor made to push her head down towards him, she cottoned onto his idea and closed the gap between them, pressing her lips to his.

The Doctor kissed her back, rolling them until he was on top and able to take control. Her hands clutched his arms, squeezing so tightly to make sure this was real, he was here, she wasn't hallucinating again.

Their tongues glided against one another and they both melted into the kiss, remembering and hoping and thinking: _finally._

He pulled back when he sensed her need to breathe.

"We should...g-get off the floor," Rose panted.

The Doctor nodded and jumped up, holding out his hand to her and hauling her up with him. "Rose," he murmured, so reverently, like she was the most precious thing in the universe. Which, he supposed, she was. To him. She was.

"Yeah, Doctor?" she answered breathlessly.

He caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. "Rose, why do you have a stethoscope on your coffee table?"

Rose burst out laughing. "Oh, that's Tom's."

"Tom? He your flatmate?"

"Yeah! He's great. Did Mum tell you? He's dating Jake..." Rose said, waiting for him to make the connection.

Comprehension dawned on the Doctor's face."Jakey-Jake? Cyberman-fighting Jake?"

"Yep!" she grinned.

"Wow. You'll have to fill me in on all that later," he replied. He frowned momentarily. "I mean, not _all _that, I don't need details." Rose giggled. Then the Doctor's expression turned serious, and he reached for her hand, entwining their fingers tightly. "But first...Rose, what did you mean, I would've been able to find you in one hundred and twenty years' time? Actually, what did you mean when you said you 'still sort of' do the aging thing?"

Rose glanced away uneasily and inhaled a shaky breath. "Thing is, Doctor..."

He bit the inside of his cheek in anticipation, waiting patiently for her to finish.

"No one knows this apart from a friend of mine – Ianto, his name is - from Torchwood. But I think - "

She was interrupted by Jackie walking into the flat, holding Tony's hand. "Isn't it amazing, Rose! He came back, at last!"

Rose beamed, squeezing the Doctor's hand tightly, evidently hoping he'd be sufficiently distracted and not ask questions in front of her family. "Yeah, it's fantastic." She looked back at him and practically melted under his loving gaze.

Pete followed his wife and son into the room. "Reunited at last, eh? That's one for the photo wall, Rose."

She grinned in response, and rushed over to a chest of drawers, pulling out her camera. "Excellent idea!" she announced, passing the camera to Pete.

She proceeded to arrange the Doctor's arms around her, while he looked down at her bemusedly. Nudging him, she prompted him to look down the lens and smile, but he couldn't look away from her smiling, happy face. She looked back up at him in mild frustration, but seeing his tender expression, she smiled back. Pete captured the moment, and declared it to be lovely.

"Thanks, Dad," Rose murmured gratefully, taking the camera back and tossing it haphazardly onto the sofa. The Doctor smiled.

Jackie interrupted the quiet moment. "Um, Rose, love? What's that smell?"

The Doctor and Rose both sniffed simultaneously, and while the former burst into gales of laughter, the latter had a look of horror flit across her face before she dashed into the kitchen.

"Oh, bloody hell! My oven's on fire!" she shrieked.


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: Once again, thankyou to the end of the universe and back for all these nice reviews! I'm completely chuffed :D I hope you continue to like... xx_**

**_Chapter 4_**

The Doctor just continued smiling, and then went to help her put it out. "You know, for one moment, as I stepped into this flat and was hit by the tantalising smell of bacon, I genuinely thought you might've taken the time to learn..." he smirked, clearing up the water she'd thrown over the oven with a random cloth as it ran down the counter and soaked the floor.

"Never," Rose laughed, as she picked up the remains of her cooked breakfast and looked at it mournfully. "Mum bought me a cookbook once. Think it got used as a doorstop or something, then got banana milkshake split on it. Never even opened the thing," she whispered conspiringly.

"That does not surprise me in the least," he replied, before pulling the frying pan that held burnt, crispy bacon inside it out of her hand, chucking it into the sink, and tugging her into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. "I wonder what else hasn't changed about you," he said softly.

"You'd do better to wonder what has," she retorted.

He stiffened at her words, and leant backwards to look observe her fully. "What's going on, Rose?" he murmured, though he suspected that he had an inkling.

She leant her forehead against his chin and her sigh tickled his neck. "I can't talk about it here. Not with them outside. I can't."

"We could go to your tree house," the Doctor suggested with a smile. "Just sneak off and leave your family here...and then, you could show me all those notebooks with all that stuff you want to tell me inside."

"She told you about that?" Rose exclaimed, embarrassed. "Oh, god."

"Hey, don't feel bad. I did something similar, actually," he confessed.

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"How long's it been for you?" she asked gently.

"Oh, long enough," he replied elusively, keeping his tone cheerful. He didn't want to think about the years he'd spent without her. Didn't and couldn't, because she was here now, in front of him, holding onto him, and all the pain and loneliness he'd felt was fading away as she smiled. That was what Rose did, though. It was what she had always done. Made him better.

Rose nodded in acceptance, but he could tell she was just bursting with questions to ask him. But he had a far more important inquiry about her. And if it was even remotely connected to what he thought it was, he suspected he had a few tests to run.

"Doctor," she whispered, bringing him out of his reverie. "Where is she?"

He frowned at her in confusion. "Where is who?"

"The TARDIS..." she clarified slowly, as if he were being thick.

"Oh! Well, she's in Sardinia, actually," he answered sheepishly.

"She _what?"_

"Weelll, I landed in Sardinia. Made a nice change; usually end up in London when I crash to Earth, which is often convenient – and would have been very convenient in this case – but quite boring – which of course, it wouldn't've been, in this case, but you get the idea. Irony is a tragic thing. _Any_way, I landed in Sardinia, met a nice bloke who hitched me a lift to the airport, and then I had to catch a flight to Heathrow to get here a.s.a.p...and here I am!" he grinned.

Rose shook her head in amusement. "You're just..."

"Impressive?" he pre-empted smugly.

"No," she giggled. "_Crazy _bad at driving."

He pouted.

"How did you even manage to get into this universe, anyway?" she asked next. "I mean, I've tried to get back, you know...we made this, uh, this..."

His eyes lit up. "This what?"

"This dimension cannon thing. Theoretically, it would work. But I couldn't use it, 'cos it would tear a massive hole in the universe. So I've been playing a waiting game, hoping that someday, some alien will do the tearing for me, so that I can jump through. Never thought it would happen, though, not again; I reckon the monsters know when they're beat, and facing us? The Doctor and Rose? Shiver and Shake, separated on either side of the void and ready to do anything to get back to each other? They wouldn't risk it," she grinned, with a cheeky wink tossed his way. "So really, I've just been waiting for you to find a way back to get me yourself."

"Oh, Rose," he murmured, half-proudly, half-sadly. "You should never waste your life waiting for me. In fact - "

" – but you're here, aren't you? So it's a good job I did. Imagine what you would've felt like if you got through and I'd moved on and was all happily married with four kids and a mortgage?"

"Well, I would've been heartbroken, but that's not the point."

Rose rolled her eyes. "You're here now. That's what matters. Anyway, it was only six years," she dismissed with a wave of her hand.

"Only! _Only?" _he spluttered, and then he spilled his confession; "It was 'only' _three_ years for me, and that was bad enough! Rassilon, Rose!"

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Really?" she murmured.

"Yes, really," he retorted hotly. "I tried everything I could think of for, _oh, _so long. But then, I gave up. I was exhausted, and I just...gave up." He looked her with sorrowful, pleading eyes. "I thought I'd never get you back, and I just..."

"It's alright, Doctor. You found a way eventually, yeah?" She smiled encouragingly at him, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Yes. I did. Stumbled across it, really. I'll tell you all about that later. But seriously, Rose, let's get out of this flat so we can talk properly."

Rose nodded, walking backwards. "Of course." She paused, halfway out of the door to the living room. "But. It's just, well." She swallowed uneasily. "How long do we have, this time?" she whispered.

"Oh Rose," he breathed out, a contented smile lighting up his face. "We've got all the time in the World."

She bit her lip. "Are you trapped here?"

The Doctor shook his head gently. "No. But I can be, if that's what you want. For as long as you want. Forever, even."

Rose eyed him in confusion. "Right," she said quietly. Then, abruptly and without explanation, she turned and left the room.

The Doctor stared after her for a few seconds, before going into the sitting room.

"Where's she gone?" he asked Pete and Jackie.

"In her bedroom," answered Tony, pointing to a door.

"Oh," replied the Doctor. "Right."

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Well, go and see if she's alright then, you dummy. You've been in her bedroom countless times!"

"Not this one," he countered, nevertheless strolling up and entering her room without knocking, just like he always used to.

He shut the door behind him and stared at Rose, who was standing on a chair, precariously reaching up to the top of her wardrobe, feeling around for something.

"Um, Rose...what are you doing?"

"Just...trying...to find – aha!" she announced gleefully, finding her prize. Her triumph was short-lived however, when she almost toppled off the chair and onto the floor. Luckily, the fast-reacting Doctor was there to catch her, and catch her he did. "Oh, hello," she giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "My hero."

He smiled wistfully. "Oh, I should hope so." Then, he unceremoniously plonked her on her bed and sat down next to her. "What's all this, then?" he asked, gesturing to the box in her hands.

"Well," she began excitedly, getting to her knees. "This flat, yeah...it's not really where all my stuff is. The stuff that matters, I mean. 'Cos obviously, as you've seen, the stuff that matters is in the tree house, all locked up safe and somewhere I can go and look at said stuff and not seem completely crazy to my flatmate."

"Yeah..." he said, thinking he was following.

"But this...well, I can't have this too far away from me for any length of time," she told him, affectionately stroking the box.

"Why? What's inside?" he asked curiously.

"Oh..." she began, with a dreamy smile. "Oh, it's the key to everything."

"No, the key to everything's hanging 'round your neck," he observed, noticing the silver chain he'd given her. He pulled it out of her neckline, and grinned when he saw that her TARDIS key was still hanging on it. "You kept it on, all this time..." he marvelled.

"Well, couldn't risk finding the TARDIS and not being able to get in, could I? You might've popped to the shops for a banana or something. Mind you, you might've changed the locks for all I know," she added as an afterthought.

"I'd never change the locks from you," he said indignantly, as if the very suggestion was an insult to him. "Plus, she wouldn't've let me if I'd tried. Which I didn't, obviously. Because blimey, you walking through that door would've made my entire life, and I wasn't the sort of person to answer it if someone knocked, so you'd've needed your key..." he rambled softly.

Rose brought her hand up to rest against his cheek. "Shhh for a sec, yeah?"

Instinctively, he turned his head and kissed her palm. "Yeah," he whispered in agreement.

She flushed, and shook her head, trying to focus. "Right. Well. Let's...let's go to Mum's. And then I can tell you everything from the beginning."


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Here you go, chapter 5. Thanks to everyone who's left reviews on my stories recently - I'm sorry that I haven't been replying, life's been hectic lately! But I love you all dearly and really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment, so thank you so much. L xx**_

_**Chapter 5**_

When Rose and the Doctor arrived at Jackie's house, they didn't go up to tree house at first; instead, they wandered around the large garden together. Almost instantly, the Doctor had slipped his hand into hers, and now he was listening to her talk to him about her secret.

"I didn't notice anything different for years," she said carefully. "But then...I had an accident."

The Doctor's eyes widened in alarm and he stopped still. "What happened?" he demanded.

She took in a deep breath. "Well, we'd had this alert at Torchwood, notifying us that there was suspected alien activity along South Bank. So, I went to see what was going on."

"On your own?" he interrupted disapprovingly.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yes. I often did. Anyway, it turns out it's a bunch of Krexovaci hiding out."

The Doctor hissed in sympathy. "Nasty buggers, them."

"Yep," Rose agreed. "Nice teeth..."

His eyes widened again. "A bite off one of them would kill a human," he murmured. "Poisonous venom – would cause a vicious fever. Unrecoverable."

Rose shrugged. "Unless that human's immune system's changed."

He swallowed hard. "So, you're saying a Krexovacca bit you and your immune system fought the poison?"

"Yep. I mean, I got the fever and all that. But after three days in bed, I recovered. Felt absolutely fine."

"Thank goodness for that," he replied.

"Yeah. I didn't think anything of it 'til it emerged that seventeen other people had been attacked previously, and not survived."

He swallowed again. "Well, that's my Rose. Braver and stronger than your average stupid ape." He gave a nervous laugh.

"And then six months ago I got caught in the middle of something, and ended up with a knife in my chest. Punctured a lung."

The Doctor flinched, and choked on air. "You _what?" _he shrieked. "Blimey, Rose!"

"I know, I know," she gave him a small grin. "Jeopardy-friendly or what?"

He breathed in and out heavily as he tried to ignore his imagination's picturing of the scene. "You were stabbed in the chest," he mumbled, feeling dizzy and sick to his stomach, squeezing her hand so tightly it was almost painful. "You could've died."

"Didn't, though," she said brightly.

"No," he agreed. "Bloody lucky – didn't I tell you? Ancient Rome, remember? With the statues?"

"You said I was your lucky pants," she smiled.

"Yep. My Fortuna," he murmured. He brushed his knuckles across her cheek tenderly.

She rolled her eyes again, but leaned into his touch. "Not _that _lucky though; I got trapped in a parallel world for six years, Doctor."

"But you're alive," he replied. "And that's what's most important." He screwed up his eyes in thought. "But...it's more than that, isn't it? What you've got to tell me, it's more than two lucky occasions where you survived. There's no coincidence here, is there." He stated that last part rather than questioned it.

"Only Ianto knew about the second event. He's my friend, we work at Torchwood together. He's nice, you'd like him. Welsh. _Really _looks good in a suit - "

The Doctor cleared his throat, his jaw clenching tightly. "Rose. Shut up. Get back to the point."

She sent him an apologetic look and continued, "Well, there we were, marvelling at all the blood – well, okay, not _marvelling, _I think I was probably screaming a bit, but then I couldn't breathe properly so I shut up, but I _do _remember him repeating over and over: there's so much blood, god, there's so much blood - "

He winced. "Again, Rose. Too much detail. You need to learn to censor these things before you say them."

"You can talk!" she retorted.

"Yes, but right now this is about you. And I don't want to hear about how this _Ianto_ fellow looks in a suit, or how much blood - " he cut off, gulping audibly. "I don't want to think about your blood being all over the floor, thanks, so let's cut to the chase. How quickly did you recover?"

"Well, I stopped breathing, so Ianto gave me the kiss of life - "

"I bet he did," the Doctor muttered.

"But it didn't work. Then my heart stopped. He told me after that he'd stopped CPR after it became apparent that I wasn't gonna miraculously come back to life. We were too far out in the middle of nowhere, and our phone signals had been blocked; no one was around, and he couldn't call anyone for help."

The Doctor was staring at her, his mouth agape. "Woah," he exhaled roughly. "You mean – you – you _actually - "_

He was as white as a sheet. "Hey," she murmured, cupping his cheek. "It was okay, though. I woke up."

He blinked. "You...woke up," he repeated flatly.

"Yeah. Gave Ianto the fright of his life, that did."

"I don't get it - "

"I was dead. Then I wasn't. We didn't stop to question it there and then; he bandaged me up and got me into the SUV and we started driving back. In complete silence. Neither of us knew what had just happened, _how _it had happened..."

The Doctor was stood rigid. "And then?"

"And then, when we got back to base, Ianto stole Owen's medical equipment so that we could run some secret tests. And that's we found out that my -" she broke off, swallowing firmly before continuing, "That my cells had regenerated, so to speak. Not in that full-change-of-body thing that you do, but enough to keep me healthy. And alive. And it appears...looking young." She paused, watching his wide-eyed expression with trepidation. "So...well. I guess it's all thanks to that Time Vortex thing I did way back when. There you go - Bad Wolf strikes again. So. Here's me," she finished, smiling weakly to try and initiate some sort of response from him. "Stuck with you."

The Doctor remained standing incredibly still, gaping at her. "You mean...you mean...you mean...anytime you...you'll just..." he stammered.

"Yes."

"And...and so you'll never..."

"Yes." Her smile dimmed a bit, because he looked aslightly like he was going to throw up any second. "Doctor? You really are stuck with me now, eh?" She tried to laugh, but her throat felt thick with emotion and nerves.

"But...that...that's...you...you _can't_..." he spluttered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

Rose flinched. "I...can't?" she repeated, fear rising within her. "What? I can't stay with you? I thought...I thought you'd want me to, I..."

"What? Yes! Yes, of course I _want _you to! What I meant was, it's...it's _impossible_, and I would've, _surely _I would've been able to...to...to _tell!"_ he exclaimed, waving his arms around and ruffling his hair in confusion. "Why didn't I know this? Back before you got trapped...Why couldn't I tell?"

"Well, you weren't here when it was all triggered, were you? So how could you have possibly known? I'd never been hurt that badly - fatally - when I was with you, so it hadn't been necessary. You've said it yourself; your time sense is all skewiff since the War...so you wouldn't have been able to see this pan out in my timeline even before I got trapped here."

The Doctor's distressed look was tempered a little at her words. "Yes, I suppose you are right."

"Of course I am," she grinned teasingly, tongue between teeth. Then, she stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around one of his. "Listen, I know this is a lot to take in, but - "

" – wait a sec, Rose," he interrupted, shifting out of her grip so that he could frame her face with his hands. "If this is a lot to take in for me, it's sure as anything got to have been a substantial lot more for _you_ to take in. How were you, after you found out?"

She swallowed thickly. "I was...confused. Scared. But now you've found me again, I know I'll be alright. You'll be there for me. You will, won't you?" she asked hurriedly.

He stroked the pads of his thumbs across her cheekbones. "Oh yes," he answered hoarsely. "Always."

"I know it's..." she started, but broke off, tears starting to glisten in her eyes.

"What?" he prompted softly, drawing her into his arms, his hands slipping from her face to rest at her waist.

"It's not..._right_. It's not normal. Well, obviously." She sighed in frustration, trying not to cry. "But what I mean is, I'm human, so I'm not s'posed to live forever with you. I'm not s'posed to get the chance to be with you for the rest of your life..."

"No, you're not," he whispered, voice cracking. He sniffed, trying to keep it together. "But I think we can safely say that you're a bit exceptional, by human standards." He paused, staring at her lovingly as he brushed the backs of his fingers across her cheek. "By anyone's standards," he amended.

She laughed, shrugging nonchalantly. "Weeelll..." she drawled.

He tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "And really, I don't know why I was so surprised. You are rather stubborn. You always come back to me."

"That's me," she smiled.

"You swallowed Time to save me, Rose Tyler," he marvelled, resting his forehead against hers and closing his eyes. "And yet I never realised just how much you really did. Save me, I mean. Because of course, all that time we were together, you were there, saving me when I needed you to. But now...you'll always be here. To save me in the future, too. That's quite good to know," he concluded, as a tear slipped from his eye.

Rose tilted her head, pressing her lips to his in response, aware that she wouldn't be able to reply verbally or else she'd break down in tears. He kissed her back, holding onto her tightly.

When they pulled apart, Rose grinned at him. "Forever's a long time," she teased. "Sure you won't get bored of me?"

He smiled back at her adoringly. "Oh, never," he answered.

"Brilliant," she grinned back.

His expression grew contemplative. "How were you going to tell your parents? Your brother? Your friends?"

Rose looked at him steadily. "I was hoping I wasn't gonna have to."

His brow furrowed. "Rose, they'd've noticed you not aging sooner or later..."

"Yeah, but I didn't ever truly believe I'd be here long enough for them to notice. I knew you'd find me one day. Before I turned fifty or whatever, hopefully. Until then...well, I was just gonna stick to some story about a genius alien anti-wrinkle cream or something."

His lips quirked upwards at her admission. "Right. Creative," he admired.

"Thanks," she said, rolling her eyes.

"You have so much faith in me," he marvelled, shaking his head in awe.

"Yep," she agreed, nodding. "Blind faith."

"Most people would call that naive, you know," the Doctor informed her ruefully.

"What would you call it?" she countered.

"_Ohhh_," he breathed out roughly. "Optimistic?"

"Optimistic?" she repeated, wrinkling her nose up.

"Why, what would you call it?" he chuckled.

"_Romantic,"_ she answered, as if it were obvious.

"Ah, right. I see," he replied, pursing his lips to hold in his laughter.

"Hey!" she admonished, seeing through his failed attempts at keeping a straight face. "Our whole..._thing..._is romantic. You crossed the void between universes to see me again. Before that, even – you burned up a _sun _just to say goodbye! Tell me that's not at least a little bit romantic!"

"Okay, fine. Our impossible love story is epic and beautiful and should go down in history," he relented, bumping her nose with his playfully.

Rose rolled her eyes. "You're laughing at me."

"I'm not!" he insisted, looking at her seriously now. He took hold of her hands and entwined their fingers tightly. "I love you. More than anything. You know that. And blimey, Rose – for you to really be able to stay with me...that's...oh, that's just the most perfect thing I could've ever wished for."

Rose blinked back tears. "See? Romantic," she whispered.

He smiled. "Yeah, maybe."

"I love you, too, by the way," she added, before yanking him forward into a passionate kiss.

"Rose?" he whispered, when she pulled back.

"Yeah?" she answered breathlessly.

"Can we sit down for a bit?" he asked.

"Why? Have I turned your knees all weak?" she joked, straightening his tie distractingly.

"Course not!" the Doctor denied quickly. Rose raised an eyebrow. "Well, maybe a little," he amended sheepishly.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6**_

An hour of reminiscing and giggling later, lying in his arms in the grass, Rose whispered, "It's so... _us_, isn't it..."

"What is?" he asked distractedly, eyes closed as they lay contentedly in the sun. Rose was absently stroking his rolled-up sleeved forearm with one of her fingers, and he was concentrating on not shivering under her touch. He wouldn't be able to blame it on chilly weather, after all; it was an unusually warm February – well, unusually warm by his estimation. Apparently, the season's thing had been messed up in Pete's World's Britain since some Alien Incident or other.

"Like, we've slipped back into how we were. And s_traight_ _away _as well. Six years for me, half that for you, but we still..." she trailed off.

"Fit?" he supplied, lips twitching.

"Yeah," she agreed. She turned over, so that she was lying above him, her elbows resting on his chest. "It's felt so easy to just...be with you again."

"That's just 'cos, even though we've been separated by the void and time and whatnot, we never stopped being in love with each other," he murmured softly, caressing her jaw with the pad of his thumb.

Her breath hitched and she bit her lip to hold in a squeal of happiness. For all that he protested about him being romantic...well, he sure knew how to surprise her with it rather often. "That's true," she whispered back.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed, lifting his head to kiss her.

"I want to make love with you," she told him quietly.

He smiled warmly, his eyes shining with happiness. "Oh, I'm sure that can be arranged," he murmured, tickling her round the waist.

"Shall I make an appointment?" she asked, giggling.

"Mmm, I think you should," he teased back.

"How about now? Are you free?"

"I'll have to check my diary," he joked. He paused for a brief moment. "No, no, I think I'm free."

"What, your diary inside your head?" she laughed.

"Of course it is. Time Lord," he mocked.

"_Ah,_" she realised jokingly. "Okay."

She climbed off him, standing up, and held out her hand, which he grabbed hold of and pulled himself up by. "Where...?"

Rose smiled wickedly. "Where I've been dreaming of this for the last six years," she answered.

He grinned. "Your bed?"

She shook her head, and pointed up at the tree house. "It's closer," she shrugged.

"Ah," he exhaled roughly, his mouth suddenly dry. "Weeelll, then. Race you!"

Suddenly, he took off, laughing, and she ran after him in a similar fashion. As he was climbing up the ladder, Rose found it highly amusing to reach up and smack him on the bum. The Doctor was so shocked at the unprecedented impact of her hand on his bottom, that his grip on the ladder faltered, and he fell to the floor in a heap.

"Oi!" he exclaimed indignantly, as she stepped over him and starting climbing up the ladder herself. "Cheat!"

Rose paused, and glanced at him over her shoulder. "Just using my initiative, Doctor," she giggled.

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, you've always been good at that," he said, following her up the ladder until her back was to his front, her bum to his...weeelll.

"This must look very naughty," she smirked, trying to climb up the rest of the way but unable to do so because of the Doctor's possessive grip on one of her hips, holding her against him.

He kissed her neck lingeringly. "That's 'cos it is."

She moaned appreciatively and shook her head, trying to focus. "Come on, let me go for a second, yeah? I have a race to win."

"I bet you five quid that you can't get up there and completely undressed in less than half a minute," he teased, whispering the words into her ear before licking it in a most distracting manner.

She swallowed heavily. "If I gambled on that, it'd be an abuse of my knowledge of my own special abilities," she answered, pressing back into him.

"Ten quid?" he squeaked.

"Done," she smirked, and then she was rushing up and into the tree house exceedingly quickly.

The Doctor remained on the ladder, swaying in the breeze for a few moments, before he gathered his senses back together and went after his dream.

-x-

It turned out that Rose didn't win the bet. In fact, the deal was almost immediately forgotten. The next twenty minutes or so were filled with raucous, happy laughter.

Reluctant to relinquish contact with one another, and giggling like teenagers, they divested each other of their clothes rather elaborately and somewhat awkwardly, such was their position on top of one another on Rose's bean bag.

"Doctor," she gasped out in between laughs, "I really think you should move your leg."

"I'm _trying _to conquer these frankly quite complicated implements on your shirt at the moment, Rose Tyler," he announced grandly, suppressing his own laughter.

"Buttons, Doctor. They're called buttons!" Rose chuckled, pushing his trousers down as far as she could.

"Well, whatever they are, they must be fused together with...with...something...something that fuses things together a lot." As he spoke, he kicked his trousers off the rest of the way, belatedly realising he still had his shoes on, removing them too; still all the while failing to remove Rose's top.

"Oh, now, now, Doctor. Are you losing your mind? Can't you multitask anymore?"

"Weeelll, you are a bit distracting," he informed her conspiringly, in hushed tones. "Always have been."

"Have I now," she smirked, nudging her knee in between his legs.

"Yes!" he squeaked. He decided to forgo the buttons idea, and instead, he just ripped open her shirt. "Aha!" he exclaimed triumphantly.

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. "I can't believe you just ruined my favourite top," she pouted.

He sighed dramatically. "I can't believe you're complaining about that, when really, it was just a piece of unnecessary, admittedly nice and silky, material that hindered me from doing this," he said, before demonstrating his point by easing down the straps of her bra.

She bit her lip. "You know, you may have a good point there," she pondered.

"Of course I do, I'm the Doctor," he grinned. "Now, sit up a bit so that I can undo the clasp thingy."

Rose did as he asked and started giggling again. "Oh, this is the best day ever."

"It is, isn't it?" he agreed enthusiastically, fiddling with the clasp. "And this is obviously the epitome of romantic seduction."

"Oh, undoubtedly," Rose nodded, batting his hands away. "Here, I'll do it."

"Some things you are better at dealing with by yourself," he sighed.

"Yeah," she replied, throwing her bra across the room. "Other things, though...I'd be quite keen for help on."

"Oh, naturally," he approved, waggling his eyebrows. Then he got a good look of her. "I've missed you so much," he murmured.

"Are you talking to my breasts or me?" Rose teased.

"Your breasts, of course," he teased right back, rolling his eyes as if it were obvious.

"You're lucky you've got such a handsome face, or else I'd kick you out of the treehouse for your cheek," she reprimanded playfully.

He was just about to retort with something exceedingly witty, when the sound of Jackie Tyler's voice rang out towards them.

"Rose? Doctor?" Jackie called. "You want something to eat?"

"Weeelll," muttered the Doctor, eying Rose subtly.

"No, Mum!" Rose called back. "We're alright, thanks."

"Are you sure? Because I've got some nice chicken breasts I could cook," Jackie offered.

The Doctor kissed Rose before she could reply to her mother, so that he wouldn't burst out laughing.

"Rose? Did you hear me, love?" Jackie called out again.

Rose tore her lips away from the Doctor's. "Stop it," she mumbled to him, whacking his arm half-heartedly. "We're good, Mum, it's okay. We're not that hungry. Just sort of...catching up, you know."

"Alright then sweetheart. See you later!"

"Bye!" Rose and the Doctor replied simultaneously.

The Doctor waited until he heard Jackie's retreating steps before kissing Rose again, and relished in the feel of her arms wrapped around him, holding him to her like they were one entity...oh blimey, he'd gone all romantic in his own running commentary, now. This was what Rose did to him.

He couldn't say that he minded, though.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7**_

Later that day, Rose took the Doctor back into her Mum's house. She was grateful to see that her parents and brother had made themselves scarce after lunch, so that they could have some time on their own. Now, she and the Doctor sat at the table in the kitchen, with wine glasses and snacks in front of them.

"So," the Doctor murmured quietly. "Luckily, in the car on the way to see you, Jackie informed me of your, uh...relationship status."

"You mean, the fact that I'm not in one?" replied Rose, taking a sip of her drink.

The Doctor nodded, clearing his throat. Uncomfortably shifting in his seat, he asked, "So...was there...ever...? I mean, six years is a long time...I wouldn't, you know, blame you if you'd...you know..."

Rose's lips quirked up slightly at the Doctor's effort to ask his question; a question that she could tell he really didn't want to ask, but had to all the same. She reached across the table and took his hand in hers, entwining their fingers tightly. "Sometimes, it was difficult to remember, to believe, that you were coming back for me - "

" – weelll, I did say it was impossible," he put in.

"Exactly." She bit her lip anxiously. "And though I knew, deep down, that I'd have to see you again – because seriously? We'd accidently landed in this world months before I got trapped here; if something like that happened twice in just one year, then it was sure as hell gonna happen again. And I knew that I'd be waiting for that. Forever. I knew you'd come back at some point. Hoped for sooner rather than later, obviously...but I knew. But like I said, sometimes it was hard to keep a hold of that belief. Travelling the World on my own...it got lonely. Really, really lonely."

The Doctor swallowed thickly and tugged on her hand, silently telling her to come to him. She stood, and shifted into his lap; his arms wrapped tightly around her waist and she relaxed into his embrace, resting her head on his shoulder. Her hair tickled his neck and her breath ghosted over his jawline as she looked up at him, and he loved it, loved her; held her closer.

"Go on," he prompted gently, steeling himself.

"Wherever I went...it was weird. I seemed to befriend people really easily."

"You've always been good at that," the Doctor pointed out. "Honestly, the strays you picked up when we - "

" – hey!" Rose laughed. "You can talk!"

"All those pretty boys," he teased, his eyes twinkling with mirth. "_Oh_, I was so jealous."

She grinned at him mischievously, tongue between teeth. "Not to mention, Captain envy..."

He rolled his eyes. "But who did you end up dancing with? Me, of course," he beamed proudly.

Rose giggled. "I remember that night so clearly. In the basement of that old hospital – what was it called?"

"Albion," he supplied, eyes misting over in memory.

"Yeah, that's it! Anyway, you were there 'resonating concrete,'" she continued, using a quoting gesture as she spoke the last phrase.

"I was!" he insisted indignantly.

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Sure. _Any_way, before that bout of...uh..." she trailed off.

"Flirting?" he smiled.

"Yeah," she blushed. "Well, before that, I thought you were just playing with all that flirting stuff. I didn't realise that you meant it. You were this nine-hundred old alien and I didn't realise that, well, that..."

"That I was a man?" he chuckled, remembering when Rose had made a comment about all the good-looking ones disappearing, before amending her comment, saying that she meant 'men.' He also rather happily remembered the excited comprehension dawning on Rose's face as they 'talked' about 'dancing,' when she finally realised that he was just as capable of _dancing _with her as any old Captain. That had sent the tension up a notch.

Rose giggled. "Yeah. I was trying to hide the fact that I was..." she took a deep breath. "Well. That I was falling in love with you, 'cos I was so young and didn't really know what I should or shouldn't've felt – I didn't have anything to compare it to, after all; not many of my friends were in love with aliens, funnily enough. And I didn't think you'd ever feel the same way about me. I didn't think someone so...so important, so integral to the universe, could have ever loved me like I loved you. I didn't think you'd...you know..._dance..._with a nothing-special human girl like me."

"Rose," he interrupted when he could get a word in. He stroked her jaw tenderly with the pad of his thumb. "You meant everything to me, even then, right from very early on in knowing you. You were so special and you never even realised..."

She smiled softly, and traced a finger up and down his left sideburn. "When you changed, did your feelings change, too? Did you have to learn to love me again? Was it like starting again?"

"For you, it was," he corrected gently. "But no. Not for me. I mean, obviously, I fell in love with you even more every day, so in that sense, yeah, feelings changed – intensified, really. But no, the love I felt for you before stayed with me through regeneration. It always will. Because...you're _you._"

Rose nodded, a lump in her throat. "Right," she sniffed. "Good."

"When did you realise?" he asked quietly, his hand dropping from its position cupping her cheek; his fingertips now drawing patterns over her jean-clad thigh.

Her hand slipped into his hair. "Realise that I loved you or realised that you loved me?"

"Both," he answered simply.

Her eyebrows drew together, contemplating that. "Um. I don't know, really. I can't pinpoint a day...I s'pose, when everyone kept suggesting that we were together – like, even my Dad – I got all defensive about it, 'cos...well, 'cos maybe I wanted it to be true. But I pretended that - "

" – that it was the worst possible suggestion," he finished, huffing a bit.

She raised her eyebrows. "Is that what you thought? That I could never see you like that?"

He shrugged. "You were so young. I was...not. You were – are - youthful and pretty and funny and I was – _am_ – old and grumpy and well, back then, nothing special to look at." He waggled his eyebrows, well aware that he was in what he perceived to be a foxier body this go 'round.

"Hey! I loved that face!" she countered. "I _fancied _you then!"

"What, and you don't fancy me now?" he smirked.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, so fine, _maybe _this time we...match, in the age we both look, a bit better. But seriously, don't knock your previous self down."

He kissed her then, because she was..._her. _And it warmed his hearts to know for sure that she didn't consider him the way he thought she might've considered him, back then.

"We were best friends," he then said. "I'd've never risked ruining that by suggesting anything...more. I didn't think I deserved you. Well, I still don't, but that's beside the point. I sort of thought, back then, that maybe...maybe you had a sort of...affectionate, fond kind of love like you would have for a - "

" – if you say you thought I saw you as a father figure, I'll slap you," Rose warned sternly.

" – a kind but strange old uncle or something," he finished, wincing when Rose narrowed her eyes at him. "It wasn't until, like you said, that night, in the hospital...in your eyes, I saw something, something of the way I felt about you..."

"Lust?" Rose suggested with a grin.

The Doctor kissed her again, tenderly. "Yeah," he breathed. "Amongst other things."

Before he could lean too far away, Rose wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him back into another kiss. His hand at her thigh squeezed tightly, before travelling up to her hip, pulling her closer.

"What would have happened?" Rose asked breathlessly, tearing her mouth from his. "If Jack hadn't have beamed us up to his spaceship?"

He peppered kisses down her neck, whispering his answer. "Oh, I probably would've waited for you to do something...ball in your court, so to speak..."

"Ah, so cowardly, Doctor," she murmured, running her hands through his hair.

"Yeah..." he exhaled against her collar bone. Continuing, and punctuating his speech with kisses all the way back up her neck to her ear, he said, "So, so cowardly...you, on the other hand...all your confidence and teasing...and you're the bravest person I've ever known...what would you have done next?"

She tugged on his hair to make him pause his kisses and look her in the eye. "I would've taught you how to dance," she told him, her eyes sparkling.

He captured her lips again, with a low growl, before insisting, "I already know how to dance, Rose Tyler."

"No, no...you forgot. It wasn't until I almost danced with Jack, once were back at the TARDIS, that you _suddenly _remembered how to jive," she pointed out, giggling as he tickled her ribs.

"You're being mean, Rose," he chuckled.

"I'm really not. Just telling the truth..."

"Well, I had to show him rule one of travelling with us, didn't I?" he insisted, running his hand up her spine.

"How is _that_ 'don't wander off?'" she asked, bemused.

"No, no, no! Silly woman," he said, his hand slipping into her hair, tilting her head closer to his. "As soon as Jack came on board, the rules changed slightly. That got bumped down to number two."

"Did it now?" she smirked.

"Yep!" he said, popping the 'p.' He kissed her nose playfully. "A much more important rule took over top spot."

"And what was that?"

"Hands off," he started, kissing her on the lips. "My girl," he finished.

"Ooh, I used to love it when you got all possessive. Which was quite a lot," Rose grinned.

"I was not possessive," he scoffed. "I was just looking out for your welfare."

"Oh, yeah. Right, that was it," she agreed sarcastically.

He sighed. "Fine, maybe I was a teensy bit possessive," he relented. "But really. You would attract attention. It was quite unsettling."

"Ah, but I only had eyes for you, Doctor," she informed him ruefully.

The Doctor smiled. "Now that's good to hear."

"Can't say the same about you though, can I?" Roes teased. "So, let's see. Lynda, Reinette, that woman with the three eyes on CantaCorico Six..."

He rolled his eyes. "I don't know how you can bring all that up, after all these years, when you were obviously playing the same game at the time."

"I never played games, Doctor," she denied vehemently, holding back a laugh.

"Right. So you were genuinely enamoured with Henry VIII, were you?"

"He was very charming!" she argued defensively.

"And ginger," the Doctor grumbled. "No wonder you fancied him."

She burst out laughing. "Oh, Doctor. You could always buy some hair dye."

"You think I should?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"No!" Rose exclaimed. "I like your hair just the way it is. It's - "

" – sort of brown?"

"Really,_ really_ great hair," she corrected.

He looked positively chuffed. "Oh, well that's alright then."

She smiled warmly at him. "I never would've stayed with Henry VIII."

"Good. Would've hated for you to get your head chopped off the moment you did something 'wrong.' What would I have told Jackie?"

"That the only reason that it's good I didn't stay in 15-whatever? So that you wouldn't have to face telling Mum?"

"Weeelll, and the fact that you so wouldn't have fancied him after a few more years, once he put on loads of weight and got severe gout."

Rose pulled a face. "That's true. I'm so glad you've got a great metabolism and an excellent immune system."

He grinned. "What a lovely compliment, thanks Rose."

"No problem. So, those were the only two reasons?" she persisted, tongue poking out at him between her teeth.

"No," he replied softly. "I would've missed you terribly, obviously."

"Not to mention, probably spontaneously combusted with jealousy," she concluded.

He laughed. "That, too."

Once their giggles quietened, she placed her palm at his cheek and looked at him seriously. "I'm sorry I snogged Henry VIII."

"Well, I'm sorry I snogged Reinette," he replied.

She smiled, pleased with their mutual apologies. "Right. Well, that's past quibbles sorted."

"Forgiven and forgotten," the Doctor agreed firmly, nodding.

"You could've picked someone that was gonna get really fat and ugly in the future, though, like I did, instead of someone so absolutely drop-dead gorgeous and _accomplished,_" Rose muttered.

"Well, you could've picked someone less inclined to execute someone just because they stood up to them," he countered.

"Doctor, you should've known better than to be rude to that particular King of England. You brought your short stay in the Tower on yourself."

"Well, he shouldn't've insinuated what he insinuated about you then, should he?"

"Why, exactly?"

"Because you weren't his."

"I wasn't technically yours yet, either," she pointed out, arching an eyebrow.

"No, but you were, really," he said.

"See what I mean? Possessive."

"Good job, too, or else you'd still be there! Being forced to do all sorts!"

She scoffed. "Yeah, right."

The Doctor was about to retort, when he remembered something. "By the way, I met Elizabeth I. Weeelll. I say met..." he trailed off, scratching his neck nervously.

Rose sighed. "Don't tell me. You stole her virtue."

"What? No! I was on my way back to the TARDIS after meeting Shakespeare - "

" – you met Shakespeare? You met Shakespeare _without _me?" She gaped at him. "I can't believe you met Shakespeare without me!"

" - when all of a sudden," the Doctor continued. "She appears, shouting 'Off with his head!'"

Rose collapsed into laughter again. "Ooh, I wonder what you did to upset her."

"Well, I reckon she probably had a scroll with my face on it, with the words 'Most Wanted,' naturally, as the first person to ever escape the Tower of London under her father's reign, completely disappearing into thin air."

"In that case, I should be done for aiding and abetting a convict, 'cos it was only down to me that you got out."

"Something I shall forever be in debt to you for," he nodded, winking at her.

"So...were you on your own? When you met Shakespeare?" she asked, dusting an imaginary piece of lint from his jacket in apparent nonchalance.

"Hmm? Oh, no. Martha was with me," the Doctor said. "Her first trip, actually. She was a medical student working in this hospital I was investigating – it got transported to the moon; the Judoon were trying to catch this runaway Plasmavore - "

" – Judoon? Yeah, we've had them visit here, asking for info about the whereabouts of some naughty Slitheen-like creature. Space Rhinos, right?" Roes confirmed.

He beamed proudly. "Yep! Space Rhinos."

"So...this Martha girl...?" Rose prompted.

"Oh, right! Yeah, well, she was quite good at helping to save the day. Thought I'd reward her with a trip in the TARDIS," he said hurriedly.

"One trip?" Rose asked dubiously. "You said that Shakespeare was her _first _trip."

"Weeelll," he drawled awkwardly, tugging his ear. "One trip turned into another, and another et cetera. But eventually, she got fed up with me, and..."

"Why?" Rose asked curiously.

"Weeellll. I. Weell. I sort of. She...Well."

Rose laughed. "Doctor, just spit it out, yeah?"

"She fancied me," he sniffed. "I didn't fancy her. That got...complicated. I kept going on about you, apparently. Which was...probably not nice for her to hear, thinking back. Well, I've always been oblivious and rude, haven't I? Anyway. She left."

"Ah," Rose replied succinctly. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah. But she was nice about it. Gave me her phone so that in a crisis, she can get hold of me quickly."

"Good plan," she admired.

"Yep," the Doctor agreed.

She swallowed thickly. "You talked about me," she stated quietly.

He stared at her. "Of course I did," he replied brokenly, sounding hurt. "Couldn't just...forget you."

Rose stared back at him, not breaking his gaze. "I know."

"Your friends," the Doctor murmured. "The people you met on your travels. You didn't finish telling me about all that."

"Oh, yeah," she realised. "Got a bit sidetracked, didn't we..."

"Haven't we always," he replied quietly.

Rose cleared her throat. "Well. I s'pose, like you did with Martha, I needed someone to experience things with, see the different places with, help me fight crime and all that with," she grinned. "I couldn't take anyone from work; it was bad enough that they lost one employee for indefinite periods of time with no notice..."

"That's my girl. Fighting against bureaucracy," he smiled.

She chuckled. "Almost got sacked for it, though...but luckily, I managed to convince them I'm worth the trouble..."

"Well, I expect they didn't make it specifically clear in your job description that you're not allowed to wander off without a word, so they couldn't exactly complain."

"Nope," she agreed, giving him a peck on the cheek for his astuteness. "They are amateur recruitment officers compared to you, Doctor."

"Of course! Now, come on," he said softly. "Let's go and sit on the sofa. I'll get some more wine."

"Okay," she replied, moving off his lap. "In fact...I'll go and get my notebooks..."

He caught her hand in his as she stood, and squeezed lightly before letting her go. "That'll be nice."


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Apologies in advance for the short length of this chapter, but there is more to come and I promise I'm working on it. I hope you are still enjoying this story, and thank you enormously for the wonderful reviews you've kindly given me x**_

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 8<strong>_

Once she'd returned and he'd topped up their glasses, the Doctor manoeuvred Rose to sit between his legs as they lay lengthways on the sofa. She snuggled back into him, her books on her lap, and he leisurely played with her hair as she spoke of her time without him.

"And this Paulo," the Doctor interrupted, after hearing this interesting tale of a stolen painting, a giant mouse-like creature and a – to quote Rose – 'fit Italian' and how he had such an 'adventurous spirit' that the Doctor would've 'admired.' "Was he, by any chance, to stick around long?"

Rose turned her head to look at the Doctor steadily. "After we recovered the painting and defeated the Bojjaka, he ran off with a leggy museum curate, believe it or not."

"_Oh_," the Doctor replied, trying not to sound too smug. "So...you and him...?"

"I never had sex with him, Doctor," she sighed, mock-exasperatedly, smothering a laugh.

He couldn't hide the smile that graced his lips at that revelation. "Oh, okay," he shrugged innocently.

"Then there was Philip," she continued.

He huffed. "Don't you have any female friends?"

Rose thought it best to avoid answering that, seeing as the answer wasn't particularly in the affirmative. "He was kind of cute, but also a bit of a wimp. Helped me out in Prague, but freaked out when he realised that it wasn't actually all a big joke."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

Rose bit her lip. "He thought he was being pranked. You know? Like a secret camera show..."

"Pah!" the Doctor laughed. "You don't half pick 'em, Rose Tyler."

"Well," she shrugged.

He grinned. "So? Anyone else?"

"Yep. Slayed a dragon in Pierrefonds with a bloke named Patrick. Well, I say slayed...I didn't actually kill it. Obviously. We actually just fed it candyfloss, and it flew quite happily away. But slayed sounds more knight-ish, and there _was _a jousting competition going on at the time, so it was all quite medieval."

"I think the proper word for the past tense of slay is slew, Rose," he informed her wisely. She rolled her eyes. He wrinkled his nose then, considering, "Patrick?" he asked. "Do _all _your...huh_, companions_...begin with the letter 'p?'"

"Nah, I just renamed him for the purpose of the story. Thought you might appreciate the alliteration. He was actually called Gary."

"Oh," the Doctor smiled, relieved. "For a minute there I thought you had a fetish."

"I do have a fetish, but it's got nothing to do with names," she snorted in amusement.

His eyes widened and he leant closer. "Really? Do tell."

She giggled and squeezed his hand. "Maybe later." She turned a page of her notebook. "Ooh! Yeah, this is Charles. He was quite posh. Reminded me of that guy we met on Diablo Four? You remember, with the - "

" – giant pet ladybird? Yeah, he was funny," the Doctor reminisced. Then he pouted. "Was Posh Charles funny?"

"Not in the slightest," Rose sighed. "The looks were where the similarities ended, unfortunately. Oh, apart from the love of insects. That's how he became useful, really. Good at digging through dirt. Literally. Found me a fossil, he did."

"A fossil?"

"Yep. Of an alien. Couldn't name it, though, never seen the like before. Still haven't named it. You might be able to shed some light?" she suggested.

The Doctor smiled. "Well, I am brilliant."

"Indeed," she laughed. She shifted topics again, "Went to Egypt, too. Met this man there, right, who - "

He groaned. "Must they _all _be men? _Seriously?"_

Rose smirked. "Must all your companions be young human women, Doctor?"

"No!" he insisted, resenting her remark. "I've travelled with all sorts of people, all sorts of genders, all sorts of ages!"

"Sure. Well, funnily enough, for me it tends to me the men that are more interested in helping a crazy blonde girl who goes on mad adventures." She levelled her gaze with him, making sure he believed her when she said seriously, "But Doctor, nothing weird went on."

"Weird? Of course not; slaying dragons with candyfloss and finding fossils of alien creatures isn't weird at all. Not for us, anyway."

"I meant, like...you know. Stuff."

"Yeah, I know what you meant," he smiled. Then he narrowed his eyes at her. "Honestly, though? Six years without..." he coughed meaningfully.

Rose narrowed her eyes right back at him. "What are you saying? _You _couldn't -?"

" – no!" he cried, alarmed. "I can go without for decades, if need be. Have done, in fact. A lot. Weelll, most of my life, actually. Which, upon reflection, is rather depressing. No, I just meant, well. You're human. Only natural for you lot. Plus, it is very fun. Randy apes, you are, and - "

"- Doctor," she interrupted calmly. "Shut it. Do not collectivise me with my species. Some humans captured aliens and proclaimed them to be theirs. Sometimes I don't want to be associated with certain misendeavours of humanity."

"Firstly, you did sort of do that, too, you know," he waggled his eyebrows at her. When she looked confused, he sighed and clarified, "Me, obviously! And secondly, you can hardly call randiness a misendeavour of humanity. It's a biological imperative, that's all. Human nature. Necessary to keep the blood line and best-looking going. Natural selection. Survival of the fittest. You know, Darwin once said - "

She shut him up with a kiss. When she pulled away, she murmured, "I'll show you biological bloody imperative," before yanking him up into a standing position, scattering her notebooks. He raised his eyebrows, looking dazed but pleasantly expectant. "In the guest bedroom," she finished, before taking him just there.

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><p><em>Twenty minutes later:<em>

"We are going to keep doing this as often as this, right?" he panted beside her.

She giggled breathily. "If you want."

"Good. Your flat next time? 'Cos I am slightly petrified that Jackie will find out about this."

"Don't worry; she said we could stay the night." She let out a wide yawn. "Do you mind if I get some sleep? I'm knackered."

He chuckled smugly. "Be my guest." And he watched her doze off before sneaking out of the bed, pulling on his boxers and shirt, and creeping downstairs to retrieve something, hoping fervently that he wouldn't bump into anyone on the way.

Luckily, he made it back to the room without any awkward meetings. He smiled softly as he watched Rose wriggle slightly in her sleep, throwing her hand out and unconsciously feeling around for him in the space he'd vacated. He quickly shed his shirt again and climbed in beside her, trying not to jostle her awake as he eased his arm beneath her shoulders to hold her to him.

He pressed a kiss to her temple and sighed contentedly. How wonderful it was to have her sleeping next to him again. He couldn't believe how lucky he'd been to finally get her back.

And as Rose slept soundly beside him, his arm wrapped around her and his fingertips lightly stroking over her skin, he read her notebooks deep into the night, alternately laughing and crying as he absorbed her life without him.


End file.
